As virtualization platform vendors strengthen and expand the feature sets of their respective offerings, it is almost a certainty that the data center in the future will include a heterogeneous mix of virtualization platforms as well as physical platforms. For organizations that are moving to virtualization, choosing the correct platform for their needs is only the start. For certain, organizations also will need to obtain a set of virtualization utilities to assist in moving to, and managing one or more virtual platforms in their data centers. These utilities must not simply be 'repurposed' tools from the physical world but should also be specifically designed to leverage the efficiencies and unique characteristics of the virtual platform.